BMW, Peugeot Citroen Team On Green Car Tech

One year after the two partners signed a memorandum of understanding, the joint venture formed by the BMW Group and PSA Peugeot Citroen to develop and manufacture hybrid and drive technology is now up and running. A recent press release confirms that the joint venture “BMW Peugeot Citroen Electrification” is well under way and production of hybrid components for the electrification of both companies’ models is scheduled to begin in 2015.

The main goal of the partnership is for BMW and Peugeot Citroen to become a leading manufacturer of electric power trains within a few years. To that end, the companies are investing more than 100 million euros in the joint venture.

image via BMW

Around 400 employees — mainly engineers specializing in in electro-mobility and electronics– will work at the new Research and Development Centre in Munich by the end of 2011. Products designed in Munich will be manufactured at the facility in Mulhouse in France, which will have around 250 employees once ramp-up is complete. The company expects manufacturing to begin in Mulhouse in 2015.

The partnership has an extremely wide scope and includes all relevant components for electric power trains, such as high-voltage batteries, electric motors, generators, power electronics, loading units and energy management software. As part of its independent activities, the joint venture will create an open technology platform that will allow it to integrate suppliers into the development and purchasing process and sell the hybrid components it produces to third parties.

Steve Duda lives in West Seattle, WA with three dogs and a lot of outdoor gear. A part-time fly fishing fishing guide and full-time writer, Steve’s work has appeared in Rolling Stone, Seattle Weekly, American Angler, Fly Fish Journal, The Drake, Democracy Now! and many others.